United States copyright based industries such as movies, home video and television programming, music and sound recordings, books, video games and software continue to be one America's largest and fastest growing economic assets. Core Copyright industries are responsible for an estimated 6% of the nation's total GDP totaling $626 billion a year. Copyright industries had an annual employment growth rate of 3.19% per year - a rate more than double the annual employment growth rate achieved by the economy as a whole.

The motion picture industry, in particular is a thriving economic engine that contributes greatly to our economy. It is one of the only industries that has a positive balance of trade with all the countries in which it does business. In the United States, the movie industry employs over 750,000 people - more than 350,000 people are directly employed and almost 400,000 are indirectly employed by the motion picture industry as drivers, food personnel, carpenters, electricians and the like. In fact, the average movie production employs 350-500 people, and larger special effects films can take thousands. A major movie on location contributes around $200,000 per day to local economies as studio employees use hotels, caterers, car rental agencies and gas stations, dry cleaners and dozens of other businesses.

Piracy not only robs U.S. studios and the U.S. economy, it affects industries and economies worldwide. In 2005 the worldwide motion picture industry including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per view providers lost $18.2 billion to piracy. China?s local film industry lost $2.7 billion to piracy in 2005. France lost $1.5 billion and Mexico lost $1.1 billion.

¹Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: the 2004 Report